Created on 05-08-2012 at 00:00 AM
An unfamiliar Bayern side grew in confidence with every passing minute of Sunday’s LIGA total! third-place play-off against hosts Hamburg and ultimately cruised to a merited 1-0 victory. The 40,000 crowd at the Imtech Arena saw Mitchell Weiser score the winner from close range with five minutes of the first 30-minute half to go, Xherdan Shaqiri taking the man of the match plaudits for a fine display in the playmaking role.
“Shaqiri is a huge talent, he has all the ability for the position he filled today, but Madzukic is very hard-working too, Emre Can did well at left-back, and Mitchell Weiser is another very promising young player,” boss Jupp Heynckes said afterwards. “The young players could well get their chance if we have injuries, although they’ll have to prove themselves. We were very tired yesterday after our intense training and packed friendly schedule, but it was different today. I know we’ve worked hard, and we still have three weeks to go until the league restart.”